I have always wanted to make my own tortillas and I finally did!
A few weeks ago I invited some girl friends over and had a homemade tortilla test together where we learned how to make them. I had 5 different recipes that I had found around the web, each using different oils and flours. Some used coconut oil, some used shortening, others used olive oil and butter. Not knowing which was the best method, we made them all! Getting together with other women and learning a new skill in the kitchen was so much fun.
After trying all 5 delicious recipes, there was a clear winner. Want to know the verdict? Here it is…
Coming in at #5 was the coconut oil flour tortillas by the Fresh Idea Mama. These tortilla were by far the most beautiful. We loved the color of this one, it was whiter than all the others. We also loved that it used coconut oil. The flavor was great but it got last place because it turned out a little too crispy for our likings. We were looking for a softer tortilla.
Coming in at #4 was the Shortening flour tortillas by Grumpyshoneybunch. We were very pleased with the consistency of these tortillas. They seemed a bit more authentic than some of the others which was a big plus. The tortillas were able to be rolled out quite thin but still keep that tender soft tortilla consistency that we all love. What it lacked in was the flavor, which is pretty important.
Coming in at # 3 was the Olive Oil Flour Tortillas by thebakerupstairs. These may have possibly been my very favorite tortilla of the bunch. See how the tortilla in the picture is shaped like a heart? Yeah, I loved this recipe. They were the easiest tortillas to make out of all the others. I love that I could whip these up 20 minutes before dinner. 20 minutes to fresh homemade tortillas? Yep! The dough only needed to rest 10 minutes. Also, there was no cutting in any of the fats because it was already in liquid form, just add the olive oil and the water the to dry ingredients and stir. It was incredibly easy and quick. These turned out very similar to our shortening tortillas except that these were easier to make and had a great flavor, thanks to our yummy friend olive oil.
Coming in at #2 was surprisingly the Whole Wheat & Flour Tortillas by Confessions of a Homeschooler. We were all a little worried we wouldn’t like just straight whole wheat tortillas but we for sure wanted to try a tortilla recipe that had some whole wheat flour in it. This recipe we found was perfection! We just used half all purpose flour and half whole wheat flour and they were so good that this recipe almost took the gold. We imagined they would be a tougher tortilla almost like eating card board, but these tortillas surprised us. The fact that it has whole wheat flour gave it almost a nutty flavor and made us feel like one of those cool moms that only makes healthy foods for her kids. Also, these rolled out the easiest of the bunch which we really loved.
AND… drumroll please….
Coming in at #1 was the Butter Flour Tortillas by A Sweet Pea Chef. We adapted this recipe a bit because it didn’t actually call for butter, but instead lard, which we didn’t have on hand. This recipe also called for half all purpose flour and half bread flour. Maybe that and the butter combo created the magic. All I know is that these tortillas had the best flavor by a long shot and they were the softest tortilla of the bunch, overall making it the winner. You can tell just by looking at the picture just how soft and tender these tortillas were. The only down fall of this recipe was how hard it was to roll out the dough, but we all agreed it was very much worth the extra effort for the ending result. Also, after storing all the extra tortillas for a couple days, these were the only ones that stayed soft and tender. A definite winner!
Things I learned…
I learned that there is nothing like a hot fresh homemade flour tortilla! They are ridiculously good and so much better than store bought. They do take some time to roll out and unless you are some magical genius, getting that piece of dough into the perfect circle will NEVER happen. But I do think it is worth the time and money to make them if you want your tortillas to have a more authentic taste and feel. You want to know what I learned most from this tortilla making day? It was that learning something new in the kitchen is much more enjoyable with some good friends by your side. If you have a new recipe you’ve been itching to try, invite some friends over to do it with you. It’s a fabulous way to spend a morning or afternoon.
Below is the adapted recipe for the butter flour tortillas. Don’t forget that Cinco de Mayo is coming up! This would be a great recipe to incorporate into your festivities.
Butter Flour Tortillas
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup bread flour
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/2 cup salted butter at room temp
- 1 cup hot water
Instructions
- Sift together the all purpose flour, bread flour, baking powder and sea salt into a large bowl. Add the butter to the bowl and using your hands mix the butter into the flour mixture until the mixture resembles course crumbs. Slowly pour the hot water into the crumble mixture and stir together until the mixture become moist and sticks to itself, forming a ball shape. Knead the dough for 3-5 minutes or until the dough can hold its shape better and is less sticky.
- Cover bowl with tea towel and let rest for 1 hour.
- After dough has rested, break the dough into 14-16 smaller balls. Cover the balls and let rest an additional 30 minutes.
- Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Using a well floured rolling pin, take a ball of dough and roll out to a thin round circle, or whatever shape you can manage. Try to roll the tortilla as thin as you can. Carefully place tortilla on hot skillet. Cook for 30-40 seconds or until bubbly and golden. Flip and cook the other side until nice and golden. Repeat with remaining dough balls.
- Wrap the cooked tortilla in a clean tea towel until ready to eat.
- Eat right away or once completely cool you can reheat by wrapping tortillas in a damp paper towel and microwave for 20-30 seconds or wrap in foil and warm in the oven.
Nutrition
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Comments & Reviews
Casey H says
Can I cook these on a griddle, versus a skillet?
Karrie says
I’m sure you can, this would still work great.
Hannah says
I have made these tortillas many times and they are delicious! A definite must-try.
Gerontologist says
Why take the time to make these when they are so inexpensive in stores? Most everything I cook is from scratch, but I would not make tortillas from scratch.
April says
Have noticed the ingredients in store bought vs. homemade? They add so many preservatives that a pack of tortillas could be on the shelves for a few months! After eating homemade tortillas it will be hard to eat anything other..
Laurie CaliPastorsWife says
Ok, wow! I have made home-made tortillas so many times….. they were NEVER what i had hoped. Growing up, I had a friend whose mom was mexican…. when i spent the night, she would ALWAYS make us tortillas. Since then i have tried every. single. recipe to try to simulate them. TO. NO. AVAIL! Until now!!!!! Seriously, these butter tortillas are AMAZING!!! My daughter and i whipped them up for dinner, and yeah, lets just say I’ll be making these again and again! thanks so much for sharing!!!
Handful says
Okay, wow, these really are the best tortillas! I didn’t have bread flour and used AP and they were very tender and easy to work with. Second time I used about 3:1 AP and whole wheat. A bit tougher but still good.
Erica says
Is the bread flour required, or can you use just flour?
Erica says
With added yeast? Instant or active?
Happy.MoneySaver says
If the recipe ever calls for bread flour I try to use bread flour. The consistency can change so much with bread flour. So long answer shortened – yes, use bread flour for the best possible outcome. BUT if you are in a pinch and don’t have bread flour, try it with regular flour.
Veronica says
Bread flour has a higher gluten content, which can help with elasticity.
Ivy says
bread flour? Is that just self rising flour or something else? Thanks
Katie says
Awesome recipe! The whole family loved it from my hubby down to my 9 month old! I don’t think I can ever eat a store-bought tortilla again. Delicious!
Lena says
I used 1/2 c. Butter instead of oil. And used the excess pieces of tortilla to make” torchurros” I placed a small amount of oil in a hot pan and tossed in the scrap pieces, I mixed them so that the oil would evenly coat all the pieces, after they are well coated I added cinnamon, sugar and light pinch of salt and continued to cook until all pieces were coated. I let them cool and placed into a tupperware container. I used them for a topping on vanilla ice cream.
Happy.MoneySaver says
Yum–what a great idea!
Lottie says
I just made these and it took a little more than 1/2 cup of water. If I had put in the whole cup of water, it would have ruined the recipe.
Wendy says
I added the whole cup the had to knead with an additional cup of flour and it pulled to whether nicely. I hope they turn out soft.
Mona says
Ur rite…. I was putting the water gradually during the kneading process and at one point saw that I only need a little more than 1/2 the quantity of water.
Michel L M says
Do you fry these in just a hot pan, no oil? I’m attempting homemade flour (and corn) tortillas for the first time. I got a tortilla press and I’ll be making enchiladas Sunday but thought I’d get this part done ahead of time. Should I store them in the fridge or at room temp if I’ll be using Sunday? Thanks in advance!
Happy.MoneySaver says
I just put them in a hot pan–no oil! I did store them in the fridge in a ziploc bag with a paper towel in between them. (You can reuse the paper towels after you are done!) They did start to get hard after a couple days so don’t do it too far ahead of time!
Michel L M says
Thanks! Hopefully they will be ok! I was actually amazed how simple this process was! (besides the wait time haha!). I do wish I had a bigger tortilla press. The one I got at Bed Bath & Beyond was only 6.5 in and they tend to shrink w cooking. I’ll have to start searching for next time!
Jackie Clements says
The way to get them round, is to only put your rolling pin on half of the dough when making them. All you do is keep turning it and rolling it on half of the dough. Well first you do roll it with the whole pin till it is the size of a small saucer plate, then proceed as stated above.
Jana says
What is the best way to store these in the fridge? Do they freeze well?
Happy.MoneySaver says
I found the best way to keep them in the fridge was wrapped in paper towels in a reusable Ziploc bag. They can freeze that way too!
Mitchell Reid says
I have used the lid to my skillet to cut my tortillas in a perfect circle that fits my pan…they shrink a little but come out “store bought” shaped round.
Happy.MoneySaver says
Great tip! I will try that next time!
Pam B says
I have recently started making soft tortillas for our taco night. They have been a big hit at our house! I save the fat from cooking the hamburger and use that as the fat in the recipe. But I may have to give the butter tortilla recipe a try. Thanks for testing all these for us. You are a ruby above all others.
Happy.MoneySaver says
Awww thanks, Pam!
Charlotte says
They make an awesome tortilla press available at most Mexican markets. Would save the tine and mess of rolling them out. Thanks for the recipe I have been thinking about making tortillas for about a week now.
Happy.MoneySaver says
Do it! It’s so easy and so good! I will look for one of the tortilla presses–great tip!
Sheyna says
I love making corn tortillas – and can’t wait to try these! Mmmmmm!
noele says
hi carrie why no cost comparison homemade vs store bought? love your blog!!!!!
Happy.MoneySaver says
Thanks! I guess I was more caught up in making the different tortillas! Great idea though!
Jen says
I got a tortilla/wrap press off Craigslist specifically to make flaxseed wraps (they are gluten/wheat free!). I think having a press could make this a LOT less time consuming – I can make a dozen wraps in about 10 minutes. I think the flour tortillas would take a little bit more time, but not much. Worth looking into. This is the one I got:
http://amzn.to/Qv7Npa
Happy.MoneySaver says
Thanks for sharing!
Deb says
Would you mind sharing a link to your recipe for the flaxseed wraps?
donna says
These sound so yummy!
Have you tried to use a gluten free flour mix as a substitute? Just curious how this may turn out?
Hope you do this exercise for corn tortillas next!
Happy.MoneySaver says
I haven’t tried that…yet! I would be interested to know what you think if you tried it! And great suggestion for the corn tortillas!